分类： politics

KINGSTON, Jamaica — In a pointed address to Jamaica’s House of Representatives during Tuesday’s annual Sectoral Debate, opposition trade spokesperson Anthony Hylton launched a sharp critique of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) administration’s economic approach, accusing the government of fixating on headline fiscal indicators while ignoring the growing financial strain facing ordinary Jamaican households.

Hylton, who serves as the Opposition Spokesman on Trade, Industry and Global Logistics, argued that the JLP administration has grown complacent in celebrating macroeconomic wins that do little to improve daily life for most citizens. The government has repeatedly highlighted its achievements in fiscal discipline, macroeconomic stability, and growth in the country’s Net International Reserves — benchmarks that Hylton acknowledges hold genuine importance as foundational pillars for national economic health.

But these abstract numbers do not tell the full story of Jamaica’s economic reality, Hylton emphasized. “The Jamaican people are not living inside spreadsheets,” he said, outlining the gap between government reporting and on-the-ground experience: working families across the country are navigating persistent spikes in food and energy costs, stagnant wages that fail to keep up with the rising cost of living, and shrinking pathways to upward economic mobility.

The opposition spokesperson added that even young professional Jamaicans, a core demographic for long-term national growth, are increasingly questioning whether the country can offer them a stable, rewarding future. Too many households, he noted, are barely clinging to financial stability from one month to the next, rather than building long-term prosperity.

For Hylton, the central question facing Jamaica’s legislative body is not whether the government can balance its books — it is whether the country’s economic strategy is delivering tangible, felt prosperity to everyday people. In one of the most memorable lines of his address, he argued: “Jamaicans cannot eat fiscal credibility. They cannot pay mortgages with macroeconomic statistics. And they cannot build businesses from press releases.”

Beyond criticizing the current administration’s approach, Hylton pushed for a transformative shift in economic policy, arguing that Jamaicans deserve far more than just basic stability management. What the country needs, he insisted, is a bold, comprehensive national growth strategy designed to build long-term economic resilience, expand access to opportunity, boost domestic productivity, and deliver shared, sustainable prosperity for all segments of society.

Hylton pointed to a host of inherent advantages Jamaica already holds to support strong growth: a strategic geographic position along the world’s busiest shipping corridors, a skilled English-speaking workforce positioned for global trade and investment, close proximity to some of the world’s largest consumer markets, globally influential cultural brands, a population of driven entrepreneurs, and vast untapped economic potential across multiple sectors. Yet he stressed that inherent advantages are useless without intentional, targeted planning. “Potential without strategy is merely an unrealized opportunity,” he said.

Hylton framed this gap as the core failure of the national budget the government introduced in March, and positioned the push for a actionable growth strategy as the defining challenge facing the sitting administration and the entire House of Representatives in the coming term.

As he nears his 80th birthday, one of the Caribbean’s most long-serving and influential political figures has announced he will step away from front-line electoral politics, but has no plans to exit public life. Instead, former St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is preparing to step into a new, high-profile role advancing the regional movement for reparatory justice for the harms of chattel slavery, indigenous genocide, and centuries of colonial exploitation.

Gonsalves, who led his country for more than 22 years before his Unity Labour Party (ULP) suffered a lopsided electoral defeat in November 2023 that left him as the sole opposition lawmaker in parliament, made the remarks during an address to the Jamaica Observer Press Club last Wednesday. While confirming he will not encourage his party to select him as its lead candidate in the next general election, he stressed that the final decision on his electoral future rests with ULP membership.

“I’m a party man, but I would not encourage the party to do that,” Gonsalves told attendees, pushing back on speculation he could reverse course if party leaders would beg him to stand again. “The ruling New Democratic Party has publicly hoped he would fade quietly from public life after the election result, but Gonsalves made clear that stepping back from electoral leadership is not equivalent to full retirement.

“Fate, history, and circumstance have accorded me this current role in the legislature. The Government would have liked it if I would just fade away but the good Lord doesn’t intend for me to do that,” he declared.

In recent weeks, Gonsalves was appointed senior advisor to the Repair Campaign, a regional advocacy initiative launched in 2022 by Irish businessman Denis O’Brien that supports the work of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Reparations Commission (CRC). The campaign focuses on public education, academic research, and global diplomatic engagement to push for formal reparations from former colonial powers for harms inflicted on Caribbean peoples. Drawing on his decades of experience in regional politics and his background as a trained lawyer and social scientist, Gonsalves plans to leverage existing professional and personal connections to strengthen coordination between governments, civil society groups, academic institutions, and international stakeholders working on the reparations cause.

Gonsalves argues that reparations is far more than a government-led initiative, saying the movement requires coordinated action from across regional and global groups. “We do not make history in circumstances chosen by ourselves but by conditions which are inherited from the past and those which have arisen from the extant circumstances,” he noted in his address, framing the reparations fight as a defining historical project for the Caribbean region.

His new role is not the only activity keeping him engaged post-election. Gonsalves shared that he is putting the final touches on a 480-page manuscript examining Caribbean political leadership, hosts a three-hour weekly radio show on his party’s radio station twice a week, and prioritizes time with his 15-month-old granddaughter, whom he called “a beautiful young lady in my life” that he often brings with him on regional travel.

“ I take her walking in the morning, walking in the evening. She loves to be with her papa. If I come to Jamaica, I have to bring her with me because she wouldn’t want me to leave her home,” he said warmly.

Even as he spoke of personal life and political transition, Gonsalves repeatedly circled back to the reparations movement, framing it as an unfinished great cause that demands unwavering commitment from regional leaders. Invoking a quote from Jamaican National Hero Norman Manley, he argued that transformative progress cannot be achieved by leaders who are uncertain of the cause.

“In August I am going to be 80 years old. As you notice, I have all my marbles, the brain is ticking over well,” he joked. “West Indian integration, regional integration, is a great cause, and great causes have never been won by doubtful men and women. The same thing with reparations; it is a great cause, and this cannot be won by doubtful men and women.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s national audit watchdog has raised serious red flags over how the country’s top emergency management agency handles public and donated disaster relief funding, including a major post-hurricane recovery program.

The Auditor General’s Department (AGD) released a damning audit report Tuesday, which was formally presented to Jamaica’s parliament, calling out widespread systemic failures at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the government body tasked with leading national emergency response and recovery operations. The probe centered specifically on ODPEM’s stewardship of resources allocated to the Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative, alongside broader oversight of the National Disaster Fund and the government’s Restoration of Owner or Occupant Family Shelters (ROOFS) shelter recovery program.

According to the report, ODPEM has demonstrated significant shortcomings across three core operational areas: financial management, institutional governance, and program accountability. One of the most notable gaps uncovered is the extreme lack of transparency around how Hurricane Melissa relief resources have been deployed. As of the audit cutoff date of February 23, 2026, just 1.8 percent of total cash donations earmarked for relief efforts had been spent — a mere $26.2 million out of the $1.44 billion received.

Auditors also found insufficient regulatory controls for donations processed through a partnering financial services institution. Key documentation gaps include the absence of a formal written agreement outlining terms for retained funds, and incomplete financial reconciliation records that make it impossible to fully track how all donations have been managed.

For the ROOFS Program, which relied on emergency procurement rules to speed up delivery of shelter materials, the audit identified multiple critical gaps in operational oversight. ODPEM failed to carry out required due diligence on participating suppliers, did not complete formal verification that ordered materials were delivered, lacked proper supporting documentation for payments, and failed to maintain complete records of project completion. These failures mean regulators have no guarantee that $167.3 million worth of program materials were used fully and for their intended purpose, the report concluded.

Beyond the specific program findings, the audit also assessed whether ODPEM’s internal control systems are robust enough to prevent, identify, and address fraud, waste, and misuse of public and donated disaster resources. The report confirmed that significant unaddressed gaps also remain in the ongoing oversight of the broader National Disaster Fund, raising questions about the agency’s ability to responsibly manage disaster resources at a systemic level.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A sitting Jamaican member of parliament has launched a scathing rebuke of the national government’s flagship road improvement initiative, accusing the administration of failing to deliver critical infrastructure upgrades to his coastal constituency, leaving thousands of residents trapped in a cycle of unsafe and impassable road conditions.

Kenneth Russell, who represents St Ann South East, laid out his damning indictment of the Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to Our Road Network (SPARK) Programme during a dedicated press briefing Tuesday, branded “Uncovering the Facts on the SPARK Road Programme”. The event was organized to draw public and government attention to what Russell calls systemic failure and disrespect for local communities.

First launched to align with the Jamaican government’s broader economic growth and inclusive social development targets, SPARK organizes national infrastructure upgrades into four large-scale construction packages designed to overhaul the island’s aging road network. For St Ann South East, nine roads were formally added to the SPARK project roster with a total projected investment of $2.3 billion. But according to Russell, only $315 million – less than 15% of the required funding – has been allocated to date, with just three of the nine roads marked for any work. Shockingly, only one of those three projects has broken ground, while the remaining two have been given at least six separate announced start dates that have all come and gone with no construction activity whatsoever.

The constituency faces uniquely pressing infrastructure needs: Russell reports St Ann South East has roughly 225 kilometers of roads managed by Jamaica’s National Works Agency, more than any other parliamentary constituency in the country, with 80% of that network assessed as needing full rehabilitation. Decades of underinvestment have left almost no stretch of road in the area free of damaging potholes, according to the MP, and many communities face daily life-threatening hazards that disrupt access to work, school, and emergency services.

Russell pointed to Johnny Spring Road in Higgin Town as a prime example of the government’s broken promises. “There was a promise sold to the country that under SPARK, this road would be rehabilitated. They were given dates before the hurricane and since the hurricane, we have had not just one or two, not three…[but] at least six start dates,” he said, noting that every deadline has passed without any official explanation for the delays to local residents.

This pattern of unmet commitments has left local communities increasingly frustrated, a sentiment Russell says amounts to “the height of disrespect” for constituents who rely on functional roads for their daily livelihoods. Poor conditions affect communities across the constituency, including Dunnsville, White Hall, and Nine Mile, where residents report major difficulties entering and exiting their neighborhoods. Russell also highlighted the road adjacent to Golden Grove Primary School, calling it one of the most dangerous stretches in the area: “When it rains, it’s treacherous,” he said.

Beyond potholes and surface damage, Russell warned that several sections of road in White Hall and Nine Mile are at risk of complete breakaway, and that urgent intervention is required to prevent fatal accidents. “I would hate if it would have to come to someone losing their lives for action to be taken,” he emphasized.

Even if the government completes all nine SPARK projects currently allocated for St Ann South East, Russell added, the upgrades would only address less than 40% of the constituency’s NWA-managed road network, leaving the majority of the area’s infrastructure still in dire need of repair. The criticism puts renewed pressure on the Jamaican government to address funding gaps and delivery delays in its signature infrastructure programme, as opposition from local representatives grows over unfulfilled campaign and policy commitments.

A long-time South Florida resident with Jamaican roots, attorney Tamar N Hamilton has officially thrown her hat in the ring for the Broward County Circuit Court Judge seat in Group 52. Her announcement comes on the heels of the recent retirement of Michael G. Kaplan, who held the position for 24 years, leaving the vacancy that three candidates now seek to fill.

The upcoming election, scheduled for August 18, is a statewide judicial contest in Florida that will see voters select 20 new Circuit Court judges across the state. Originally hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, Hamilton has built her life and career in Florida over the past 25 years, establishing deep roots in the local legal and community landscape. Currently serving as a special magistrate, she maintains dual office locations in Cutler Ridge and Lauderhill, and previously held the role of president of the Jamaican American Bar Association. Interestingly, a run for the judicial seat was already on her agenda six years ago, when she first considered challenging the incumbent Kaplan.

Hamilton shared her motivations for entering the race in an interview with Observer Online, noting that her first serious consideration of a judicial run came in 2020, when she observed a growing gap in community engagement and public understanding of the U.S. legal system. “Through my work educating and supporting residents across Broward County, I developed a deep passion for serving from the bench, where I can ensure that every person who enters the courtroom is heard, respected and treated fairly,” she explained. Hamilton pointed to her multi-faceted professional background — spanning work as a special magistrate, adjunct law professor, practicing attorney, and community advocate — as comprehensive preparation for the demands of the judgeship.

Her academic journey began at Jamaica’s St. Andrew Technical High School, before she pursued higher education in Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary arts and humanities from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, followed by a Juris Doctorate degree with honors from St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami Gardens, where she still teaches as an adjunct professor today.

In Florida, Circuit Court judges are elected to six-year terms, with no term limits imposed on this non-partisan public office. These judicial positions carry broad responsibility, as judges preside over a wide range of legal matters including criminal proceedings, civil disputes, and family law cases. Hamilton emphasized that her decades of legal work have given her direct experience across all these core practice areas.

Outlining what she believes makes an effective judicial leader, Hamilton noted: “An effective Circuit Court judge is experienced, fair and committed to listening. It requires a strong understanding of the law, sound judgment, patience, and the ability to remain impartial in every case. Equally important is the ability to ensure that all parties feel heard and that decisions are made thoughtfully and respectfully, in accordance with the law.” As election day approaches, Hamilton will join the two other candidates in vying for voter support to claim the open Group 52 seat.